Amy Tan Mother Tongue Summary

In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to

Amy Tan’s literacy narrative “Mother Tongue” is about the different dialects of English, she is familiar with. She explains that her intelligence is judged by the way she speaks. Amy Tan, explains memories from her life where she encounters many forms of English. Her mother, a Chinese immigrant spoke “broken English.” She describes her mother as someone who was able to understand English, well the mother claims that she understands everything, but when it came to speaking, she spoke without the correct grammar. Due to her mothers broken English, Amy Tan has adapted to the type of English her mother speaks, their own type of English language. Tan feels as if the English she is speaking with it outside world is more complex than the English she

The purpose of Amy Tan’s essay, “Mother Tongue,” is to show how challenging it can be if an individual is raised by a parent who speaks “limited English” (36) as Tan’s mother does, partially because it can result in people being judged poorly by others. As Tan’s primary care giver, her mother was a significant part of her childhood, and she has a strong influence over Tan’s writing style. Being raised by her mother taught her that one’s perception of the world is heavily based upon the language spoken at home. Alternately, people’s perceptions of one another are based largely on the language used.

Tan’s attitude towards her mother’s English begins with embarrassment and humiliation. Growing up in an immigrant family which speaks imperfect English, Tan witnesses many discriminations that her mother has encountered in department stores or at banks, those experiences help to shape Tan’s opinion to her mother’s English. For example, Tan states that “[she] was ashamed of [her mother’s] English. [She] believed that [her mother’s] English reflected the quality of what [her] mother had to say” (508). In young Amy’s opinion, her mother’s expressions and thoughts are broken and imperfect like the way she speaks, and she believes that linguistic expression is linked to a person’s intelligence. As a result, she was ashamed of her mother in public because of her fractured English.

There are numerous bilingual and multicultural individuals on the planet today. For some, decisions of which language they utilize, and how they utilize it, relate to what social or social group they have a place with. Amy Tan, a Chinese American writer, depicts this well in her short exposition “Mother Tongue”. Tan experienced childhood in two unfathomably unique universes utilizing diverse English’s. The primary world, which comprises of her nearby family, she talks what we may call “broken” or “constrained” English. The second world, which is her business and expert world, tan talks and composes culminate standard and scholastic English.

“ When I was growing up my mother limited english limited my perception of her, I was ashamed of her english I believed that her english reflected the quality of what she had to say” ( Tan 8 ). In the article “ Mother Tongue” Amy Tan convey’s her central message by using pathos, Logos, And ethos to show how her mother was treated, and how it affected her growing up

In the essay, “Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan lays out examples of noticing the different Englishes in her life and how she incorporates them into her writing. She also breaks down the different versions of English that have taken root in her life. Tan notes that she includes all the Englishes of her life in her book, The Joy Luck Club. Tan, the daughter of immigrants, learned to navigate between the “perfect” English of her professional life and the “broken” English of her youth. The author’s main claim of there being no perfect way of speaking English is one that can be easily recognized because Tan gives clear examples of the diverse versions of English in her life, she pinpoints moments in which she sees the differences and discovers how to accept and acclimate these differences to her life and career.

A theme I found in Amy tan’s mother tongue is caring what other people think. In the essay she referred to her mother’s English as “broken”, “fractured” and “limited”, and that the

She strives strongly on the fact that language is different for everyone, not only when speaking, but understanding as well. According to Tan, “Everybody says things differently and what they say could possibly be interpreted” (Tan, Pg. 364). Even though Tan explains about language, she even describes her Englishes that she uses to identify with: the English she spoke to her mother, “simple”; her mother’s English, “broken”; her translation for her mom, “watered down”; and what it would

I enjoyed reading “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. Tan states, “I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes”. This quote resonated with me because my grandma’s English is different from my English. My grandma came from Mexico and learned how to speak English. However, English was my native language. As a result, our English sounds different when we speak it. Just like Tan and her mother, when I speak English to my grandma it is more of a “broken English”. In other words, my English is not the same as if I were to be speaking to a professor. I tend to speak this way to my grandma because it is how we connect with one another. Tan also states, “that the language spoken in the family, especially in immigrant families… plays a large role.” Reading

“I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language - the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea or a simple truth.” - Amy Tan “Mother Tongue” ( 315) Language is a very powerful tool. Amy Tan is a Chinese immigrant, she explains that her mother speaks “broken” or “limited” English. Amy Tan believed that because of her mother’s limited English is the reason for her shortcomings. While Joanne Kilgour Dowdy resents her mother for forcing the “Queen's English” onto her in order to be accepted in the colonial society.

In Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, Amy characterizes the concerns that occurred with living with a parent who communicated in ill-advised English.

Language as a combination of single words and different ideas affects us everyday in life. In the essay “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan, the author describes how her mother’s English influences her in her career and life that the “mother tongue” does not limit her as a writer, but shaped her and her perception on life instead. And her attitude to her mother’s English changes from the initial embarrassment to the final appreciation.

Federico Fellini, an Italian film director and screenwriter once said, “A different language is a different vision of life.” Chinese American writer, Amy Tan, reiterates this point in her piece “Mother’s Tongue.” She tells the story of how language has affected her life and her writing, but more specifically, her mother’s language. She explains that her mother is a very smart woman, but isn’t always able to express the depth of her thoughts in English since this is not her native tongue. This text shows us that even though language plays an important role in shaping who someone is, it’s an inaccurate way of to defining them.

Amy’s Tan one world consists close to her family, second world business, and professionalism. Tan American Chinese novelist in her short essay “Mother Tongue” she speaks and writes today, perfect academic English. In a first opening paragraph, the writer cannot give an opinion on the English language; she gives clue that is she,